Chuck & Blair, Blair & ChuckJust Friends!
by laurenwt
Summary: What happens when Blair sees Chuck in Paris, two months after the destruction of Season 3 finale? Will she still loathe him or find it in her heart to forgive him? More importantly, will it matter? Does Chuck's heart still belong to Blair?
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first Fanfic piece, so keep that in mind, please. Be kind to me. :) I actually am happy with how my story is playing out so far. I've enjoyed writing it, and I can't wait to continue writing multiple chapters. I love to read and write, and in case you can't tell by my story, I do LOVE some Gossip Girl too! I love reading other people's "Chair" stories, and my husband, knowing my dorky obsession with Chuck...and Blair ;), encouraged me to write my own. **

Chapter 1

It wasn't as hard as she thought to get over Chuck and the unforgivable actions that took place two months ago. Sure, she still had the occasional nightmare where she would wake up in a cold sweat, realizing "Chuck and Blair, Blair and Chuck" would never be again. In a panic, she'd grasp for air and at times even wish that he would be laying beside her, proof that the nightmare was just that...a nightmare. However, the remaining sleepless hours during those nights, she'd reflect on how miserable and torture-filled their relationship was...maybe not in the beginning but at least in the end. Those thoughts always pushed aside any weak hope of reconciliation, but would she ever truly be able to give her whole heart to another? No, Chuck was gone, and with him, he took bits and pieces of her that she'd never get back. Oh, the loss of one's first love...She knew she'd never truly be the same again. "But I'm going to be strong," she almost giggled out loud at the thought of high school graduation when she said these same words to Serena amidst all the caps and gowns at Constance. You see, no matter what Chuck ever did to her, she always tried her best to be strong. After all the pain he'd caused, it only seemed natural for her not to have to TRY to be as strong anymore. She was being strong for her...and with little effort one should add. Yes, Blair could be Blair without that Chuck Bassterd.

Paris was better than any random hook up or scheme of revenge, and being with her bestest, Serena, made her feel sixteen again. Who was she kidding? Even at the age of sixteen, Blair Waldorf never let herself act out as a typical adolescence was always expected to. However, with both beauties on relationship hiatus, that meant retail therapy by day and club scene by night. Never had she ever felt more alive and sexy. As the summer days passed by, she couldn't make herself hate Chuck anymore. If it weren't for their relationship and the magnetic force between them, that in the beginning kept their relationship light, playful ,and sexy...and in the end, inconceivably drove them apart with a permanent wedge, she would have never truly found herself. In Paris, Blair learned to love herself..the good, the bad, and the ugly. She grew to love her independence and relished in the fact that for once, she didn't need a guy to feel whole. She was enough. As Blair pondered on how much she had changed, she admitted to herself, "Maybe all of those early morning yoga sessions weren't such a bad idea after all. I'll have to thank S again for forcing me out of bed this summer...even if it was way earlier than expected for summer break. But dream journals? Please. Even I'm not that desperate." She smiled at her best friend's attempts at serenity.

As Blair circulated around Dior, her own heaven on earth, searching for the perfect pair of shoes, she couldn't help but to consider how much her best friend had grown over the summer too. "B, let's go! If we spend the entire afternoon in Dior, then how are we ever going to make it back to the hotel in time to get pretty before meeting up with Adrian and Tristan?" Serena whined. Okay, so having two French guys woo the girls by night did help Blair's heart mend quicker. It's not like either of the respected parties, Blair and Serena nor their French cuisines expected anything past the summer. Other than a few drunken kisses late night at the pub, the four had become great friends. If Blair were to admit, which of course, she never would...It was almost strange how the four of them felt so comfortable and at-ease with each other. If she had to compare the newly-found French friends with two New York guys from their past, it'd be Nate and Chuck all the way. Of course, that's why she'd never let herself admit this comparison.

"Fine, it's not like I don't have these same shoes in navy already." Blair frowned, trying to forget about the recent mental comparison. "And, it's not like we can't just swing back by tomorrow, right S?" she said in her most taunting, Blair Waldorf voice. As Blair took off the black and white, platform Oxford's she had tried on, Serena sighed, gazing out of the front window display and out into the pebbled streets filled with busy, fast-paced pedestrians. She loved how busy the city and its inhabitants seemed, but at the same time they were always friendly and upbeat too. If only New Yorkers seemed this way. Currently, she just hoped more than anything that her own inner circle of Upper East Side friends would return in the fall on "friendly, upbeat" terms. Everyone had left for the summer in such turmoil, she almost dreaded going back home. As she pondered these worrying thoughts, suddenly, her heart skipped a beat, and she could barely let out a single breath. Surely, her baby-blues were deceiving her. Nobody wears bow ties anymore! They were so last season, after all. Only one guy could pull that off...Chuck! But, he couldn't be in Paris! Could he?

"B, you are not going to believe this! Come quick!" Serena shouted, motioning with uncoordinated, enthusiasm for Blair to put a pep in her step. "What?" Blair replied uninterested as she walked casually to the window display. "Don't tell me. You saw Harrison Ford go into that dreary, old coffee shop again? Honestly Serena, I didn't come here to celebrity stalk. Besides, what movie has he even been in lately?" she questioned with obvious distaste.

Serena shook her head but said nothing. She just pointed her long, slender finger to the nearest bistro across the street. To Blair it seemed like everything stalled into slow motion in that instant. From Serena's raising of her bony finger, to her own brunette curls falling from her shoulders at the turn of her head, to the young man in a bow-tie who happened to return her gaze instantaneously. "Oh my effing gosh!" Blair gasped. She couldn't shake the feeling she developed at the pit of her stomach, and although, part of her knew that words were escaping her best friend's mouth, the bigger part of her couldn't even wrap her mind around the inaudible phrases her best friend spoke in this moment. It wasn't until he started across the busy street towards Dior that she realized there was no escaping this. Not only was this out of character for Chuck to come all the way to Paris after such devastation and heartache that only Blair Waldorf could effectively inflict on someone, but that smile on his face...It was almost as if his smile showed genuine sincerity. Had he forgotten about Jenny? Had he forgotten that Blair shunned him from her life once and for all? Was he even still shunned? Blair's mind was in a complete frenzy, so she just stood there, mouth agape as Chuck walked directly up to them with that damn sincere smile again...What happened to the ever-so-superior smirk?

"Uh, B. Say something." Serena's voice echoed as if it was in a deep, dark tunnel far from Dior, far from Paris, and far from this dreaded reunion. Blair hadn't yet thought about how to react when she first saw Chuck again for the first time. Her current, carefree mind was entranced with her love for Paris, designer shoes, and Pomegranate martinis...something Tristan had introduced her to. It was nice to have a taste for something other than Dom Perignon. After all, she was developing all kinds of new tastes post-Chuck Bass.

No matter the case, it was too late to plan her reaction to seeing Chuck, and everyone knows how the old Blair Waldorf loved a well-thought out plan. Of course, that Blair seemed to be long gone though. "Blair!" Chuck beamed as he took her in his arms. She breathed him in out of habit, hesitantly allowing the embrace. She recognized that although his natural musk still seemed to leave her a little weak at the knees, another scent was lacking. Scotch. Why didn't he wreak of Scotch? (his remedy for any problem or success in life)

"It's so great to see you, Blair...A summer abroad with my sister really looks good on you," he winked as he took his sister in his embrace, as well. Serena giggled at her brother's teasing banter, and Blair couldn't help herself. A nervous smile broke out across her own face. They do say smiles are contagious, right?


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

As Blair felt herself loosen in his steadfast embrace, she thought back to the words she spoke to Dorota late one night after a Brooklyn jealousy scheme. The whole night seemed so long ago. In truth, she and Chuck were both guilty of playing on each other's weaknesses that night in hopes of drawing the other back in, out of jealousy and longing for what used to be. However, it wasn't until later that she realized it was time to accept the fact that they were over. He had broken her heart after all, and she would move on without scheming, jealousy, or pride because that was what was best for her. Blair didn't realize it, but she had honestly started loving herself and growing as a person far before Paris. "Chuck is a part of me. He always will be," she admitted to Dorota upon her return from the art show in Brooklyn that night, so long ago.

Why was she thinking back to one of the many Chuck moments she SO tried to forget this summer? Well...Blair thought, "Just because I can't make myself loathe him any longer, doesn't by any means signify that I have fallen in love with him again in the course of two seconds in Paris! Who cares if it's the city of love?" In that moment seeing Chuck after all this time, she knew she had honestly forgiven him for the whole Jenny Humphrey thing. It had been months, and she had realized that holding onto all that anger was almost more tiresome than the initial anger in the first place. "Even though her name alone makes me cringe, I can't blame him for that depressing...and I might I add..disgusting rebound. After all, I was the one that didn't show at the Empire, and he had assumed my love for him had diminished completely. Who's to say I wouldn't have reacted in the same way? Just not with a Humphrey for crying out loud!" Blair's nose turned up in disgust at this thought. "Chuck is a part of me. He always will be," she replayed that statement once again. "Maybe he can still be a small part of me. Don't get me wrong. It will take time...lots of it, but we always were close friends even on some demented level before our doomed relationship began. Who's to say we can't start over? Even Chuck and Blair deserve a clean slate. We'll be friends. "Chuck and Blair, Blair and Chuck"...just friends? Could it work?" Her eyebrows furrowed, and a crease of concern etched her forehead.

"Gah, she is beautiful," Chuck admitted to himself. How had he forgotten how perfect Blair Waldorf truly was to him? After all this time, she still had a way of making him melt on the inside like no woman ever had. Before Jack and Jenny, a piece of alliteration he wished he could forget, he knew every emotion she felt, every facial expression she owned (there were many), and every ounce of her being. Had this much time really gone by? He watched her hesitantly as he finally let her escape his arms. Although she smiled with all that was in her, he couldn't shake the fact that her eyes didn't match up with it. "Will she ever be able to forgive me? Pssh, who am I kidding?" He sadly concluded. He knew the answer to this. Even he couldn't blame her for ridding herself of him once and for all. His own stomach seemed to fall into a deep, dark pit as this realization finally overcame him.

Serena watched two of the most important people in her life unintentionally show what seemed like a lifetime of hurt across their faces: her best friend, her soulmate, her sister and her step brother, her protector, and her...irritant... most times back home anyway. She had to intervene somehow. "B, say something back to him," she silently pleaded with her best friend. After a few more moments of what seemed to her like complete awkwardness, she spoke up. "Chuck, oh my gosh! What a surprise! We didn't know you were in Paris...did we, Blair?" Blair's eyes snapped back into reality. "Uh, well, no...we definitely weren't aware." Blair stuttered nervously. Chuck laughed kindly at Blair's lack of composure. Was this the same Blair Waldorf he knew?

Scared of yet another awkward pause or ten, Serena kept the conversation rolling. "Soooo, do share, do share! What are you doing here! Why didn't you text me!" Chuck looked down and checked his watch anxiously. "It's mostly work-related, sis. Look, I'm supposed to meet a client in ten minutes on the other side of the square. I hate to bail though. What are you two getting into tonight? Would you want to meet up after my meeting?" He asked glancing at Blair. Hoping for a response from her, Chuck couldn't help but frown as Serena once again had to be the voice of the two best friends, "Sure! We were actually meeting up with some friends anyway. Text me and I'll send you the address." He nodded with a smile and gazed at Blair one last time. Besides the obvious lack of snide remarks being replaced by quiet nervousness, it seemed there were many more differences in her...deep below the surface. For some reason, he couldn't shake...he felt like he didn't even know her at all anymore.

Then, as if she could read his mind in an instant, the old Blair came back with a classic Waldorf line. "Well, we do know how long your "business" meetings tend to last, Bass. Perhaps, we should bank on a late night out then?" she said with an angelic smirk. Serena winced, waiting for Chuck's response thinking that this could be the beginning to a very quick end. She just knew Chuck would lash out in classic Bass-man fashion, and then, there'd be pieces of Blair splattered all over Dior. She didn't want to be there to pick up those pieces. She was just about to change the subject when Chuck shook his head playfully and gently bit his lip, a smile breaking out across his face. His temper never even flared. The three of them shared a laugh...a real honest to goodness laugh... that they all realized they'd been missing over the past couple of months. With another quick glance at his watch, Chuck tried to say his goodbyes, "Look, I'll see you both tonight." It looked like he were going to turn and leave. "Oh, and Waldorf...I won't keep you waiting." He turned but then stopped, wheeling back around to face her. "Oh yeah, and I almost forgot...you can 'bank on that.'" he mocked her in his signature tone. He threw her a smile that even touched his dark brown eyes.

Before he could turn once more to walk away, ending the surprising but not completely unwelcoming meeting of three old "friends?" all three of their phones sounded. "Bzzz! Bzzz" Gossip Girl hadn't posted much over the summer months, and quite frankly, it was a breath of fresh European air to both Serena and Blair. Their escape to tourism bliss shouldn't be interrupted by Gossip Girl blasts. Other than one hit on Dan Humphrey having an awkward conversation with a girl who looked sort of like Georgina Sparks on a street in Brooklyn, Blair and Serena had decided that Gossip Girl had finally lost her touch.

Of course, you know what they say. Sometimes, the worst things in life...come when you least expect them. As it turns out, Gossip Girl hadn't lost her touch at all. No, it just seemed that she too liked to travel... "Baguette, anyone?"

Ever wonder how the term "french" kiss came to be? We bet Chuck Bass already knows. Look who's been spotted romantically linked to one of Paris's own sweethearts, Eva Boulanger. Wonder if B's retail therapy can soothe her now?

You know you love,

~XOXO Gossip Girl~


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

As Gossip Girl's post sank in, Serena realized it wasn't too late for the whole splattering of Blair into tiny pieces. The three of them stood facing one another, their eyes not able to yet meet though. Surprisingly, it was Blair that spoke first. Upon hearing her weak voice, he forced himself to look into those revealing, chocolate eyes, and he could see the hurt and confusion buried deep within them. That's why he couldn't even begin to comprehend her next move. "Well, come on, guys. Why are we standing here acting as if Chuck's done something outrageous or unheard of? We broke up... over two months ago might I add. It was bound to happen eventually." Blair casually explained. Who was this Blair? Chuck knew he had once again caused her pain, so he couldn't understand for the life of him why she was attempting to rectify the situation to make it better for everyone involved even though it was probably in turn making it harder for herself...despite the fact that she'd ever let onto this . Serena piped in, "Yeah, I mean I guess I just never considered the after effects. You're right, B. Both of you will date other people, and who cares if Chuck was the one to start dating first? I mean we all remember that "literature loser" Dan started seeing the day after we broke up! Ugh, the thought makes me want to slap him again right now," she added through gritted teeth, hoping to lighten the mood. Blair smiled at her best friend's attempt, but again Chuck noticed it never reached her eyes.

"Blair..." he started, but she interrupted him. "Look, Chuck. If you're really here on business, then it could be days before you go back home. We still have two weeks before we'll head back ourselves, so if you still want to meet us tonight, you should bring her...this Eva Balenger." she secretly challenged him. "But, Blair I'd like a chance to explain. If you'd just let me..." he tried. She shook her head as if the explanation was not necessary. "Well, we really do need to be going ourselves, and remember, you're meeting. You don't want to be late now. We'll just see you later then. Goodbye, Chuck." She spurted out the goodbye as quickly as she could, grabbed Serena's arm, flashed one last fake smile, and the two girls walked farther and farther away from him.

Part of him wanted to run after her, to explain everything that happened after the night they last saw each other. His mind strayed back to that night...the night that still tortured him after all this time. He had done things to hurt Blair over the course of their relationship. He knew that. There were date nights that were cancelled because of last minute business meetings. Many of the enthusiastic stories she told him about NYU encounters went in one ear and out the other if the truth were told. He'd smile and nod when appropriate to do so, but numbers were always on his mind. Business was always on his mind. Now, that he had time to reflect on their relationship, he found himself wishing with all that was in him just to have another chance with her...just to rewind it all and start fresh. He'd do things so differently. Of course, missed dates and inattentiveness during story time were the least of his transgressions. There was the whole incident with Jack and the Empire. Chuck's business had sucked the life (or rather...heart) right out of him, and trying a scheme that would even possibly lead to losing Blair was proof of that.

His mind raced forward to the night after the William Van Der Woodsen take-down scheme. It was after the Benefit when he gave her his ultimatum, after trying various ways already to win her back. He had thought long and hard of a way to show her once and for all that she was the most important thing to him. The only thing that mattered. Not his constant feud with Jack. Not the Empire. Nothing...period. He wanted to make up for the wrong that he had done, and he tried to do so with the most elaborate, romantic plan he could think of. "Okay, fine it did help that I used one of Blair's classic movies as my motivation, An Affair to Remember." he smiled at his cheesiness. He remembered watching the movie with Blair for the first time, and apart from being bored and needing another Scotch, he actually enjoyed watching her...watching it. He asked her that night after the movie, "Why do you get so enthralled with movies like that?" truly wondering and she responded with a slight shrug, "I like knowing that no matter what is going on in my life, there's always a happy ending here. If I have to put a movie in to find that, then that's what I'll do," she replied happily kissing him on the cheek as she went over to the bar, bringing him back a Scotch.

He smiled thinking back to that happier time between them. An Affair to Remember helped spark the idea in him that he felt would not only bring Blair back to him...but keep her with him forever. As he walked into Harry Winston's the day before the Empire State Building meeting, he couldn't believe what he was doing. Yet at the same time, he couldn't imagine doing anything else. Chuck Bass-nineteen years old, committing himself to one woman for the rest of his life. "What would dear old Dad say now?" he thought bitterly as he perused the jewelry store that day looking for the perfect ring to symbolize his love. As he thought more about Bart Bass, he actually considered that his father might be proud of the man he had become. His father never learned from his mistakes, and he wondered how he would feel about his son being able to learn from his. At the thought of making his father smile down on him on such an important day of his life, Chuck decided on the perfect ring for his Blair. He never once questioned his choice because Blair always respected him for his excellent taste in jewelry. Besides that, this ring screamed, "Blair Waldorf!" He couldn't wait to put it on her dainty, ring finger and kiss the hand that would be his forever. The eight carat, cushion cut diamond was a classic Winston that embodied timeless elegance, or at least that's what the salesclerk had assured him of. "Timeless elegance. That's my Blair." He smiled the biggest Chuck Bass smile you've ever seen as he walked out of Harry Winston's and into his future with the soon to be Mrs. Blair Waldorf Bass.

He remembered how he felt standing at the top of the Empire State Building. His heart was racing, his palms were sweating, and he rehearsed over and over again the words that would make up his proposal to Blair. When you love someone the way he loved Blair, the proposal itself could be pretty intimidating, even for Chuck Bass. There weren't enough words in the English language for him to explain his remorse, his love, and his eternal promise to her. As the seconds, minutes, and soon hours passed by, he couldn't stand on his own two legs any longer. It was 7:30. He waited until 7:30, and Blair hadn't shown up. His trembling body fell onto a nearby bench, and with nobody around to see, tears, countless, tears fell down his cheeks as he realized the truth. She didn't love him anymore.

Chuck forced himself out of that painstaking memory, cursing himself all over again for royally effing everything up. Instead of attending his business meeting as he had planned, he made a call and rescheduled it for the following day. Far too much had happened this afternoon for him to even begin to focus on his foreign enquiries. He found a quiet spot in a local park on the outskirts of the city. As he watched an older couple walk hand-in-hand down the walking trail, he sighed and let his mind continue to wander back to the past, his ever-so-painful past.

After he regained enough strength to literally pick himself off of the bench on top of the Empire State Building, he took the stairs all the way down. The more self-inflicted pain, the better. He felt a fire in his leg muscles that he hadn't felt in a while, but that pain didn't even succumb to how his heart was feeling. This is what a broken heart felt like. He'd always seen other saps go into a state of depression after losing someone they claimed to have loved, and he'd laugh at their stupidity on the inside. But if this is what it felt like without Blair, he didn't even care if he lived anymore. He was one of those saps. Somehow, he made it back to his suite in one piece. Although, the ride home was a drunken blur (never had he ever been more thankful of the liquor stash in his limo than he was right then), and he couldn't for the life of him remember taking the elevator up. He didn't turn on any lights. He didn't do anything. He sat there all night, drinking his sorrows away. Except, the more Chuck thought about it the more he wanted to kill the man who made up that stupid saying. He was definitely NOT "drinking his sorrows away." He was merely fueling the fire. When the door to his apartment opened later that night and Jenny Humphrey came barging through, he thought her world too seemed to be crashing in on her. He wanted to be alone initially, but he couldn't turn her away. Beneath all of that wretched, gothic make-up, he could see the same hurt in her eyes. It was a mirror image of exactly how he felt. Chuck's nose turned up with disgust as he remembered back to when Jenny first leaned into to kiss him that disastrous night. The kiss that led to his personal demise. It wasn't at all like kissing Blair. With Blair, they knew each other so well, that their mouths fit like puzzle pieces, each one knowing exactly what to do to fit with the other in perfect harmony. With Jenny...not so much. "Good gosh, can she seriously stick her tongue any farther down my throat?" he found himself thinking constantly, gagging a few times as the kiss led to making out, sloppy Jenny Humphrey making out. He wasn't even into this hook up. It was like he was a robot, going through the motions, but his mind and heart were elsewhere. Later that night, in bed...the bed that Blair would never be in again, when they both silently decided to go through with it, he watched her face from below as tears streamed down the sides of her cheeks. They were both so damn wretched and lonely. "Shit! I can't believe I'm doing this. What am I even thinking?" Even in his drunken mind, he questioned his decision as he hovered above her in bed taking what was unrightfully his. More than any other thoughts that went through his mind that night, were thoughts about Blair. Sex with Jenny Humphrey was awkward, forced, and lacked any passion whatsoever. He'd never be able to make passionate, deep love with Blair again. Hell, he seriously doubted he'd ever make that kind of passionate love with anyone else...ever again. "God, just let me die." he pleaded with God to do him the honors. As he removed himself from the bed after...closing the deal, he heard the most beautiful and at the same time, frightening sound in all the world. Blair was there in his apartment calling out his name.

Chuck's flashback to Blair showing up that night made him smile because no matter what happened later, he knew that in that moment, he was the happiest man alive. Blair really did love him and her showing up there despite everything proved that. He couldn't believe that after all this time that fact alone still made him feel good inside. She had shown up for him after everything that he had done. He had ruined her in some ways, and yet, she loved him enough to come back to him. He seriously doubted he'd ever find that kind of love again. As the afternoon sun went down, the people in the park also seemed to slowly vanish. Before Chuck knew it, he was alone. However, it was oddly refreshing to have the whole park to himself. He got up and walked along the trails taking in a piece of the beautiful countryside that many tourists don't ever take advantage of. As he walked on, he flashed back to Humphrey's horrible timing at the hospital. After the blow of Humphrey's fist on his face, Chuck could hardly see straight. When his eyes did come back into focus though, it was her face that he looked at first. She had stood up for him, questioning with anger Humphrey's motives. Before she could inflict a little piece of "Blair Waldorf" on Humphrey, he demanded Chuck to tell her himself what happened. Chuck looked at her face. "Tell me what?" she silently pleaded with me. All he could get out was a weak, "Blair," because behind that response was a sob that he was too afraid to let out. Of course, Blair's intuitiveness was one of the things that first drew Chuck to her. It didn't take her long to figure out, judging from the terrified look on Chuck's face and the devastated look on Jenny's face the actions that took place earlier in the night. That night was the last time he had seen her. The night ended and so did Chuck's will to live with a simple, "Don't ever say anything to me...ever again. This whole night didn't happen."

He remembered dropping to his knees when she had left him standing in the hospital lobby. She left him, and this time, he knew that she would never come back for him. He had gone way too far. Why couldn't he have just waited longer at the Empire State Building? Why couldn't he have told Jenny to get lost? Why couldn't he ever get anything right when it came to Blair? "All I ever did was love you," he remembered her torture-filled words the night after the "indecent proposal," one of his many mistakes. He knew to any outsider it must seem as if his love never measured up to the love Blair had for him. Nobody would ever know how deep his love for her went, and yet, still despite how he loved her with all of his being, he still couldn't make her happy. So he did the only thing Chuck Bass knew to do, and that was to run. He left his little black book with Nathaniel. It was time for Nate to stop crying over Serena anyway. "Put it to good use and do what you want with it. I don't want it in my possession ever again," he told his best friend as he boarded the Bass jet for Prague. He wanted to get as far away from his life as he could, and Prague was a place he'd never tried before. "Hell, why not?" he thought as the plane took off. Once he reached his destination and was forced to stop running, Chuck did the only the other thing he knew to do. He commenced to drunken stupor immediately upon leaving his hotel that night. Leaving the pub in the early morning hours, Chuck hadn't known that his whole life perspective was about to change.

He trembled at the memory of what happened next so many nights ago in Prague. "Only pathetic Chuck Bass would be thinking of HER amidst all of the high-class hookers around." he mumbled to himself. He passed two working girls on the street corner, commenting on their velvet attire. "How elegant," he smirked to himself as he walked down the dark alleyway leading to his hotel. He saw the man approaching, and despite how wasted he was, alarms started ringing inside of his head. Something wasn't right. He didn't hear the other one come from behind, and then it was too late.

Chuck snapped back to the present, not wanting to relive that terrifying moment for another second. He took a trembling hand and laid it on his upper abdomen. The wound he'd have forever. The wound reminding him that he risked it all just to have a piece of her with him in the end. An eight carat piece of her to be exact. If it was his only connection to her, then he'd fight for it. He couldn't even succeed at that though. He had wanted to tell Blair everything this afternoon when they got the Gossip Girl post about Eva. He wanted her to know the full story. He spent a week in the hospital in Prague. The doctors constantly urged him to call a loved one or friend back home in New York. They were concerned that in a crucial time of healing he should be with people that loved him. "Look, Doc. I am a waste of space. I have no loved ones. I have hurt everyone I've ever come in contact with. I won't be making the call." He wanted to say those words so badly, but they didn't easily roll off the tongue. It was hard for him to even admit to himself that he had nobody left. For all he knew, Lilly probably hated him by this point too. After all, Blair was like her second daughter and Jenny was her stepdaughter. There's only so much one person can withstand. Unfortunately, the pain he caused spread like wild fire. He finally let the truth set in. He had nobody left. "I'm Chuck Bass. No one cares." he wanted to scream out the familiar realization, and this time, with even more passion because this time, the words were true.

It was there at the hospital he had met Eva. She had assisted the doctor one day in cleaning up the wound site, and even though the doctor left directly afterwards, she stayed behind. She definitely wasn't like the usual nurse he had. Chuck never caught his usual nurse's name because she was always so rude and abrupt. She had the body of a linebacker, and he only assumed her name would be Helga or something of the sorts. Chuck remembered thinking this new girl was beautiful in a natural, exotic way. She had tanned skin, green eyes, and soft brown hair. He watched her that day as she cleaned up the gauzes and washed the utensils. "So, are you my new nurse?" he asked her, half-hoping she'd say yes. She turned and smiled, "Well, yes and no. Your nurse is on vacation for a week. Although, I am betting her vacation entails soap opera viewing in the comfort of her own home with all nineteen of her cats." Chuck laughed. He liked her already. "So, then you are my nurse?" he questioned. "I'm actually a second grade teacher at a local school, but in the summer months, I volunteer at the hospital. It's not much, but it keeps me busy in the summer, and working in a hospital is a lot like teaching children. Both are very rewarding because you care and help others and both involve you listening to lots of whining and crying." she smiled as she compared the two. Chuck and Eva's comfortable conversation continued until another nurse interrupted, stating that they needed help in Room 312. As he watched her exit his room, he had an odd sense that over time, maybe just maybe, somebody would care that he was Chuck Bass once again.

He learned all kinds of things about Eva in that first initial conversation, and he admitted to himself that he liked what he heard. He learned she was hardworking and caring and yet, still possessed a love to please herself too. She enjoyed backpacking, mountain climbing, and surfing. He made a mental note that when he finally was released from the hospital, he maybe should try working out himself. In the past, his only form of exercise was...well, you know. Over the next week, Eva would stop by after her afternoon rounds, and the two of them would talk for hours. Listening to Eva's stories about being with her children in school, experiencing nature with her closet friends, and being an active part of not only volunteer work but charities too, made Chuck believe that maybe God had sent her to him. It was a sign. "You are who you associate with." He remembered his father trying to lecture Serena over hanging out with troublesome socialites like Poppy Lifton and saying that same quote. Then, he thought it was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard of, but now, he thought, "With Eva around, there just might be hope for me yet."

Chuck had been with Eva for over two months now, and he couldn't help but smile at how much of a positive affect she had on him over the summer. For starters, she taught him that being outdoors (no, not clad in a business suit), was one of the most rejuvenating experiences life could hand you. Chuck found that he loved ruggish activities that he often considered barbaric before like hiking, kayaking, and even fishing. Not only did he enjoy them, but Eva did too. In fact, there was hardly a experience they shared together that wasn't done outdoors. He loved her ability to be dressed in shorts and a tee shirt with no make up on and still look incredibly sexy. Besides finding new hobbies, he also stopped drinking...heavily at least. Eva didn't even try to persuade him to stop. She didn't have to. Being with her made him want to be a better person. Soon, he found that he was changing for himself. Eva was only the initial medicine that he needed. Even his business manners had changed. It wasn't long after being out of the hospital, that he checked numbers and decided that it was a good time to sell the Empire. There were far too many memories...some good, but the bad outweighed those by far. He felt that the Empire was the only thing standing in the way of truly being the new person he had strived to become. He had Eva to think for his new-found love for himself and life. Before seeing Blair and Serena, he was actually excited about the thought of his friends from home seeing him with someone so whole and pure. Although, when he thought about them meeting Eva for the first time, he thought they'd probably all think he bribed her in some way or another. He laughed at this thought. He couldn't blame them, after all. He knew what the old Chuck Bass was like far better than anyone else...Of course, there was always Blair too. She knew the old Chuck too, and that fact, he would have to live with for the rest of his life. Now that the opportunity to introduce Eva to Blair and Serena actually arose, he was nervous as hell. Blair had asked him to bring her tonight. She and Serena were now expecting it, but how he could introduce the two women, the only women in his life-the love of his life -and- his new-found saving grace?


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

When Chuck entered Les Bains, he had to admit his pulse was racing. He searched throughout the club looking for Serena and Blair. It was almost a relief that Eva was going to have to meet up with him later that night. Maybe he'd be able to get some alone time with Blair...explain everything that had happened with Prague and Eva. He didn't know why, but he felt like once again he was betraying her by not telling her the whole story of Prague...which of course led him to finding Eva. It wasn't as if he had planned on rushing into another relationship. In fact, after losing Blair, he wasn't sure he'd ever want to be in a relationship again...at least not for a while. He pushed those thoughts aside temporarily. He walked up to the bar where he found Serena and two French guys, talking and laughing as if they'd known each other for years. "Chuck! You came! Oh my gosh! I'm so excited. Let me introduce you to our friends, Tristan and Adrian. We met these two the first night out here, and they're wonderful. Our own personal tour guides!" She giggled. Chuck respectfully shook each of the guys' hands, but his glance around the bar must have given him away. "Blair's not here yet," Serena smiled at him. "Dorota was able to SKYPE tonight, and Blair refuses to pass up an opportunity to see Anastasia. You know, you'd be surprised. B never seemed like the "goo goo gah gah over babies" type girl, but you should see her! It's downright hilarious!" Serena giggled. Chuck smiled at the thought of Blair's giddy facial expressions and silly baby talk, but he couldn't help but wish she were there. Again, his own facial expression must have given him away yet again. "B's still coming. She wouldn't miss an opportunity to come out with everyone. You know how she likes to make an entrance, anyway." Serena said almost reassuringly to Chuck. Adrian motioned for the bar tender, and he asked Chuck, "Hey man, you want a drink?" Chuck shook his head, and Serena couldn't help but notice. "What, no Scotch for you, dear brother? Am I missing something here?" she asked seriously. "I found that Scotch was one of the many symptoms of my downward spiral. You probably won't believe me, but I very rarely drink anymore, sis. It's nice to have a clear head and be in control of my own actions for once." he admitted. Serena grabbed Chuck's face with both hands. "What's happened to you?" she questioned with genuine concern.

Before Chuck could answer, a vision waltzing through the front door of the club caught his eye. It was Blair. He took her in-from head to toe, noticing the delicate feet of the "queen" herself that were solely used to patten heels or designer wedges were clad in casual gladiator sandals. Her hair was wavy, and although, he loved her chocolate, tightly-bound curls usually, he had to admit the wavy, natural look was becoming on her. She was wearing a long tulle, ivory skirt with a loose fitting racerback grey tank-top. "Who is this girl?" he found himself asking silently. This was not the same Blair who once dreamed of ruling Constance and NYU who strictly wore prim and proper attire only worthy of a true queen. No, he'd never dare say so, but this style reminded him of Vanessa Abrams...carefree, urban. Of course, Blair could make anything look sexy...that's where she and Vanessa differed. He had to admit, he liked what he saw. He watched as she floated up to to the bar, kissing the cheeks of first Serena, then Adrian, followed by Tristan immediately after. He watched carefully as Tristan pulled her closer to him, whispering in her ear. Blair jerked her head back, laughing out loud at the comment made. Still shaking her head at Tristan, she turned to face Chuck. "Chuck." she acknowledged him, smiling lightly. "What? No kiss for me, Waldorf?" he joked, and for a second, Blair could see the smirk she found herself missing earlier that afternoon in Dior. She approached him, bent down, and kissed first his left cheek and then his right. Her scent lingered over him, and it was intoxicating. It wasn't the same stuffy, over-the-top, designer perfume she used to wear. It was her natural scent that he always so loved waking up to. Before she pulled her face away from his, he half-choked out, "I've never seen you look so beautiful." At this comment, she immediately pulled herself away much quicker than Chuck anticipated. "Once a Bass, always a Bass. What a line. " Blair scoffed. She shook her head at him but with a genuine smile, a smile he loved on her. "So..." Blair turned more to face her other three friends, "Can I just say that Anastasia gets more and more beautiful every time I see her! You should see the way Dorota and Vanya swoon over her. It's seriously the sweetest thing I've ever seen." she beamed. Chuck noticed the way she directed the comment to the others surrounding her. Before, he'd been the one she'd confide in...usually the only one. Tristan spoke up, "Blair, you just SKYPED with them on Tuesday. Her beauty has grown since?" he laughed grabbing her dainty hand. The hand that used to belong to Chuck. "Seriously Tris, I've never seen anything like it. You should see the way her little, innocent eyes peer into the screen, almost as if she can truly see her Aunt B!" Chuck watched as Tristan smiled at her, pulling her onto the dance floor. "Come on, Aunt B!" Tristan said in a mocking tone. "Let's drive everyone in the room mad with her sexual chemistry on the dance floor." Chuck smiled because he knew what Blair's remark would be. She hated to dance. He remembered her distaste for it, and he smiled at their common ground once again. Truth be told, the only dancing Chuck and Blair liked were the intimate slow dances in the comfort of their own suite or the occasional ones at social functions. It was unlikely that Blair could attempt this type of dancing to the hip-hop song currently booming from the speakers. He sat back on the bar stool, smirking that signature Chuck Bass smirk, waiting for Tristan to be shot down completely. He knew what it was like to be shot down by Blair Waldorf. It wasn't fun, but it'd be fun to watch this French fool go down.

You can imagine his surprise when he heard Blair giggle...maybe the cutest and sexiest giggle he had ever heard, turn towards the dance floor more than willingly, hand-in-hand with Tristan. He watched her turn, her tulle skirt swishing at every move of her hips. He gazed at her, eyes wide, mouth opened, as the two of them danced...almost vulgarly one might add. He watched her body sway, her hand reach up to hold her long, wavy hair off of her neck, and the sexy look of those dark brown eyes. Every guy in the room wanted to be the one dancing with Blair. Therefore, every guy in the room wanted to beat the shit out of Tristan. "At least one does, anyway," Chuck thought to himself. He didn't know why he was having these jealous tendencies. He had Eva. "Why the hell is this getting to me?" he questioned himself with a look of concern etched on his face. However, the look of concern soon changed as the song through the stereos changed too. He couldn't help but smile as the song changed, and a rock and roll song now played out. Blair raised her arms, closed her eyes, and bobbed up and down naturally to the steady beat of the music. He saw Tristan lean towards her, gesture towards the bar, and turn away from the dance floor. He figured Blair would be right behind Tristan, but he had to say now that he had seen this new Blair, he wasn't even surprised that she stayed out there, dancing by her lonesome. He thought back to how little self-confidence Blair used to have in herself. He never could fathom it. To him, she was perfect, but in her own mind, she was far from it. This memory of Blair was not at all the Blair he saw out on the dance floor. This Blair lit up the room with the type of sexiness that one can only achieve by truly being comfortable and at-ease with one's self. "S, come dance with me!" he heard Blair beckon her best friend. Serena giggled and joined Blair on the dance floor. The two best friends commenced to ridiculous, over-the-top dance moves as a more upbeat song began playing, and Chuck couldn't help but laugh out loud as the two best friends put on a show for all the men in the club.

Tristan and Adrian took the two girls martinis, and only Tristan returned back to the bar to sit beside Chuck. The two sat silently watching as Adrian tried to keep up with Blair and Serena on the dance floor. The poor bloke didn't have a chance. "So, you and Blair have a history, I hear." Tristan tried to break the ice between he and Chuck. "Yeah," Chuck admitted. "You could say that." He was actually pleased to know that the topic of "Chuck and Blair" had at least been mentioned among the friends. Tristan nodded, "Gah, I can't imagine being in a relationship with someone like Blair. Don't get me wrong. I'd love to whisk her away, convince her to stay here in Paris with me, but I know how unlikely that is. The truth is I don't know if I would have what it takes anyway. Before Blair, I'd never met someone so sure of themselves, so comfortable in their own skin. It's truly the sexiest thing I've ever seen in a woman, and I've dated some hot European ass, ya know?" he questioned, hoping for the great Chuck Bass to shed some light on getting a girl like Blair. "Yeah, there's nobody else in the world like her. Everyday with her was like a new adventure, ya know?" Chuck explained, wanting to admit that this present day in particular he had learned so much more about her that he ever knew possible. The new adventure was getting more and more intriguing. Tristan nodded, and the two sat silently watching Blair dance with quite possibly the oldest Frenchman in the club. As the seventy year old, whirled and twirled her on the dance floor, Blair's face lit up with happiness, and she never looked more beautiful. Chuck smiled, watching her intently.

Chuck caught a glimpse of a group of bachelorettes approaching the DJ with what he assumed was a song request. He could only imagine what god-awful song would be played next. He had taken advantage of desperate bachelorette outings before in his day after all. He laughed out loud as "Cupid Shuffle" screamed from the speakers next. What an obvious choice. Before he knew it, Serena was grabbing his hands, forcing him out on the dance floor to attempt the infamous line dance.

Dancing in between Mr. Pierre, a sweet, but slightly perverted seventy-year old and her beloved friend Tristan, Blair eyed Serena's attempt at getting Chuck on the dance floor. She was pleasantly surprised to see that he didn't fight Serena on this. She knew how happy that made Serena. She could see it all over her best friend's face. "Unbelievable. Bass actually has rhythm. Not bad, Bass. Not bad, at all." she critiqued him with honest appreciation. Up until then, she hadn't really had time to take Chuck in. After the awkward greeting Chuck forced on her, Tristan had pulled her out to dance. Dancing was something she found herself loving now. She felt alive and sexy, and truth be told, she knew she didn't have any rhythm once so ever, but she didn't care. She loved the feeling that dancing gave her. She couldn't believe she'd gone this long without it, so it was only natural that one had to pull her away from the dance floor nowadays. As the song continued and the group of friends attempted the shuffle, she gave herself a chance to absorb Chuck's appearance. She was used to the uptight, "only a fine suit will do" Chuck Bass. She had to admit she liked his loose-fitting khaki linen pants and tight, basic white tee. His dress shoes were replaced with K-Swiss sneakers. His hair was longer around his face... and his face...no longer was his face freshly shaven like usual. Blair admitted to herself that a little stubble was sexy on him. "Who was he?" she found herself wondering. It seemed as if Mr. Pierre's tiring body couldn't last any longer, and that put Chuck right beside her on the dance floor. As she danced, Blair watched as he attempted to keep up with the steps of the dance, smiling that sexy Chuck Bass smile. She couldn't help but smile too. It was like he could feel her eyes on him because for whatever reason he turned to look at her amidst all the hopping, sliding, and kicking. In doing so, he slid to the right instead of to the left, and their bodies crashed into each other. As the song finally reached its end, and others dispersed to the bar or joined in with the new song playing, the two of them stood motionless now, side-by-side, eyes locked. It wasn't until they started grinning at one another...followed with hysterical laughing that Chuck finally realized Eva was standing directly behind Blair, eyeing him suspiciously.

* * *

_Spotted: C and B caught in one of their infamous, magnetic moments during the Cupid's Shuffle. Wonder how many women Cupid is expecting C to shuffle now. From the looks of it, we bet Eva Balenger is wondering the same thing. _

_You know you love me, _

_XOXO Gossip Girl _


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Blair hadn't truly laughed that hard in months. It felt good to let it all out, and from the looks of it, she didn't think Chuck had ever laughed that hard in his whole life. He wasn't the easiest to crack, but she had once cracked his rugged exterior. She had softened him in a way that she knew he'd always be appreciative of no matter what. However, there, out on the dance floor, his laughing quickly diminished, and a look of worry filled his eyes. "Charles." A french woman's voice spoke out over Blair's shoulder. Blair turned to see Eva Balenger...up close and personal. Upon first glance, Blair wasn't overly impressed with what she saw. She was pretty in a natural, boring kind of way. "If you like that sort of thing," Blair thought to herself smirking, but she couldn't help but feel saddened in the fact that Chuck's new love interest was the complete opposite of herself. "What did that mean, anyway?" she questioned mentally. As she continued to take Eva in, she definitely found faults with this French foe. Of course, being Chuck's new girlfriend did force Blair to be overly critical of Eva...unintentionally of course. "Eva, Hey. I didn't expect you so soon. Can you believe Serena forced me out on the dance floor?" Chuck tried to sound at ease, but under the circumstances, it was definitely an awkward situation. Eva replied, "Hmm...All this time I've been trying to get my American man to loosen up. I guess it takes friends from home to bring out the real you. That seems fair. They do know you best." He hugged her with a little more enthusiasm than Blair would have liked. Blair Waldorf rarely felt out of place, but as she glanced timidly at Chuck's new love blossoming practically right under her nose, she felt like the odd man out. She didn't think she liked that feeling...not one little bit. "What is with all the 'Charles' comments anyway? And please, if anyone knows the real Chuck Bass it is us, but an easy-going Chuck Bass that was willing to act a fool on the dance floor? Never!" Blair silently questioned this new side of Chuck. She realized she'd never seen this side of him, and she didn't think Serena had either. "If Eva isn't bring this out in him, who or what is? Blair wondered, her eyebrows furrowing.

After the couple's embrace, Chuck and Eva both turned to face a distracted Blair. Blair looked to Chuck for some assurance, but he didn't even try to make eye contact with her. "So, you must be Serena. I owe you a lot for getting Charles to live a little out here on the dance floor. I swear I was beginning to think he was always so uptight," Eva smiled jokingly and extended her hand to Blair. Chuck stammered, "Actually. Uh. Eva. This isn't my stepsister, Serena. Um. This is Blair. She was my..." Blair couldn't help but feel sorry for him as he stumbled through the introduction of his ex girlfriend to his new girlfriend. It was obvious he hadn't told Eva about her...or their past. She didn't know if that was a good or bad thing. Even though he most definitely didn't deserve it, for whatever reason Blair felt called to save him from this torturous introduction. "Hi." Blair interrupted Chuck. "I'm one of Chuck's friends from back home. I'm actually Serena's best friend. The three of us practically grew up together though. It's great to meet you, Eva. Chuck has told us a lot about you." She sort of stretched the truth on that part, but hey, at least he had mentioned her to them. He obviously didn't feel the need to mention her to Eva. "Oh, Pardon me. Chuck told me how beautiful his stepsister was. He said she got her stunning looks honest from his stepmother, so when I saw what a beauty you were, I just automatically assumed." Eva explained, her face reddening with embarrassment. "Wow, I have to say with comments like those, I approve of you already," Blair assured her, smiling. For whatever reason, Blair couldn't help but shake the fact that those words were somewhat true...as true as they could be. "I mean no girl in their right mind likes seeing her ex with the new girl, but it was bound to happen. As replacements go, Eva isn't half bad." Blair silently configured. "Come, Eva. Let's go find a table and sit. You have to meet Serena and our local friends, Tristan and Adrian." She took hold of Eva's hand and led both she and Chuck to the bar where their friends were already quite intoxicated.

"Whooohoooo! Blair, you have to try one of these shots!" Serena called to her best friend as she approached the bar. Chuck scoffed. Since when did Serena act like this? Not since her "Whoregina" days, and to think that Blair would succumb to that type of social drunk fest. "Sure, S! Order us a round! You'll have one, won't you, Eva?" she questioned sincerely. "Uh, well. Actually, Charles and I..." Of course, we'll have one, Waldorf." Chuck interjected. Blair smiled knowingly but couldn't help but notice the look Eva shot Chuck immediately afterwards. Serena and Adrian divvied out the shots, and Serena's attempt at French was entertaining to say the least as she urged the group to take the shots all together, "Un, Deux, Trois!" she shouted out. The friends gulped the shots down, and Blair's almost came back up her nose as she seriously cracked up at her best friend's attempt at French. "Serena, if you could take time away from your French counting lessons, for a moment, please," Blair giggled. "You have to meet Eva. This is Chuck's...Well, it's Chuck's...uh girlfriend." Serena could tell Blair had a tough time getting that truth out, and as she glanced towards Chuck, she could see that he too was bothered. So, she did what she did best, overreacted so that Blair's moment of weakness was forgotten as soon as it occurred. "Wow! Oh my gosh! It's such an honor to meet you, Eva! Come to the bar with me. Let's get more drinks for everyone, and you have got to tell me exactly how you met Chuck. It's such a surprise to see him this happy so soon after..." Serena looked at Blair who was shaking her head furiously as if to say, "Don't mention me!" Eva looked at Serena, waiting for her to finish her previous statement. "Well, it's just great to see him so happy. That's all." Serena gulped, saving herself from a very sticky subject. She didn't want to be the one to let the "bass" out of the bag just yet.

As Serena and Eva headed towards the bar, Adrian and Tristan walked over to a group of their friends who had just gotten in. That left Blair and Chuck, Chuck and Blair standing silently. Neither not knowing quite what to say. "Well, Bass. Not bad. I mean, she's no Blair Waldorf or anything." she joked, trying to break the awkwardness. She had never felt so much awkwardness in one day in her life. She actually never felt awkward around Chuck at all, but my, how things had changed. His lips slightly curved upward in a grin, but Blair could tell he was having to try to hard even at that. "Look, Blair. Will you take a walk with me? There are some things I wanted to explain, but I didn't want to do it with the whole group around." he asked casually, but his eyes were pleading with Blair to take that walk. "Yeah, okay." she agreed as he led her out the bar's front door. Outside the bar, the streets were vacant except for a few stragglers here and there. Blair couldn't remember feeling this nervous in a long time, but no matter what, her goal was to remain cool and collected. She was Blair Waldorf after all. The two strolled to the corner of the street, and Chuck sat down on a bench. He put his face in his hands and sat there for what seemed like hours. "Chuck, it doesn't have to be like this, you know?" Blair assured him kindly. Even now, Blair couldn't help but try to comfort him. Maybe Nate was right when he said she was downright maternal so many, many months ago. She almost smiled at this realization. "It doesn't have to be like what, Blair?" Chuck snapped, finally lifting his face to make eye contact with her. He looked fierce but vulnerable all at the same time. Whoa, this was not the relaxed, easy-going Chuck Bass she had witnessed so far in Paris. This was her Chuck, a piece of the old chuck shining through. She couldn't help but feel intrigued. She had to keep in mind, "Cool and collected, B...cool and collected. I can do this. " She spoke out to him, "I don't understand, Chuck. We're broken up, and you and I both know it's for good this time. I already told you earlier today that there aren't hard feelings on my end. We will both date other people, we will both experience the good, the bad, and the ugly in new relationships, Chuck. We will both get married some day. We will both have families of our own. It's life." she paused waiting for him to remark, but there was nothing. The look in his eyes drew tears to her own. "I want **you** to be happy, Chuck. I want **me **to be happy." Chuck grimaced, "Really Blair? Because it's hard to tell." The tears steadily streamed down her face, and she shook her head in disgust at him. "Chuck, what do you want from me? Do you want me to get mad? Plot an evil plan against Eva? Rub random guys in your face? I'm not that person anymore, Chuck. I'm trying to be better than that. I've changed. So, tell me what you want from me?" As she plead with him, she sat down beside him on the bench. The two sat there...silent. Their eyes never left the other's. "I feel like I'm really losing you...not just in that way, Blair. I know I don't stand a chance in hell of you ever considering me in that way again. I can't blame you. I just feel like you've changed so much, and I've changed so much. Don't get me wrong. It seems like all of our life changes have been for the best. Although, I can't say you downing shots with Serena sits well with me..." he forced a smirk at this comment. Blair rolled her eyes, but she wanted him to continue. She nodded with anticipation. "I just can't consider my life without you in it, ya know?" he asked, hoping for her to feel the same. Blair swallowed the huge lump in her throat and dabbed at her eyes, "I meant what I said that night after Elizabeth first betrayed you. Do you remember what I said?" she asked, knowing he wouldn't. Guys don't remember conversations that happened last week. Chuck Bass especially. "You said you'd always be my family." Chuck smiled, small tears forming in his own eyes. "Yes, and I meant it, Chuck. You and I were best friends long before our demise. You'll always be a part of me, and I of you. You'll have me in your life for as long as you want me there."

She couldn't help but let out a quiet gasp as Chuck took her hand in his, stroking her hand with his thumb gently. The spark between them was as strong as ever, and she knew he could feel it too. Damn that mother effing spark! He brought their hands up to his face and using Blair's forehand he wiped a tear from his own eye. He then brought their hands down level with his lips, kissed her hand lightly, and then returned both to his lap...his hand never leaving hers. "You'll never know what those words mean to me. You'll never know what you mean to me, Blair. In all your life, you'll never know. Thank you." Blair didn't say anything. She didn't have to. She smiled up at him, and a huge smile broke out across his own face.

Suddenly, a blonde bombshell ignited outside of the bar, speeding towards them, fury in her eyes. "I can't effing believe you, Chuck! How could you not tell us? How could you not tell anyone! We deserved to know!" Serena yelled, shoving her stepbrother hard in the chest, knocking his back hard against the bench. "Serena, what the hell are you doing?" Blair tried to ignore the feeling of deja vu. This wasn't the first time that she had yelled at someone for attacking Chuck. Chuck remained silent. His bottom lip trembled, and he shook his head in defeat. He knew. She knew. Before long, everyone would know. Eva told Serena...about Prague.

* * *

My, my, my. I spy a bittersweet reunion between two old lovers. Looks like C will never learn. And we all just thought he was a changed man. Looks like you can't change a Bassterd after all. Not even a gunshot wound can change his ways. Wonder if B will mend his wounds after hearing the truth about Prague? We think not.

XoXo,

Gossip Girl


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Chuck was at a loss. "Serena, what the f is your deal?" Blair demanded an explanation even if Chuck, the obvious culprit, wouldn't himself. "Oh B. Just wait! You have no idea what he has done this time! It's sick even for HIM!" Serena returned in a bark. Serena then glared towards Chuck, "Say it. Say it out loud. Tell her what happened!"

Chuck knew that this moment would come, but he hadn't exactly planned it out. He thought back to the hospital in Prague when the doctor pleaded with him to call friends from home, but at the time, he wasn't even sure he had any friends left. Besides the obvious, Blair, he figured everyone else had learned of the truth by then too. He figured he didn't have much of anything or anyone to go home too...ever again. Seeing Serena and Blair here in Paris had him questioning that theory, but now that the two of them were finding out...he felt that sudden panic again. He would have nobody left from his past in New York. He was losing everything...everyone. He was losing Blair...again.

"Serena, I..." Chuck started, but his stepsister soon interrupted. "And, don't even try any excuses. 'I'm Chuck Bass' won't get you out of this one, dear brother. Just cut to the chase! Tell us how you got shot! Tell us how you spent weeks in a hospital alone in Prague! Tell us how you didn't feel that your family was important enough to know of any of this! Damn it Chuck! How could you!" Serena was in tears by the time she choked out these words. "I don't even know where to begin..." Chuck's voice cracked, and his heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest. He was the most terrified he had ever been in his entire life, and admitting that to himself was a lot. Chuck Bass wasn't often terrified unless Blair Waldorf was involved in any way...or muggers in Prague too. He wasn't ashamed to admit that moment in his past made his top five terrifying moments.

"Um. Is this seriously for real? What the hell is going on? You were shot, Bass? I don't understand. How could you not tell me?" Blair's voice seemed tinier than it ever had before. All this time, he hadn't realized that she was sitting there on the same bench completely dumbfounded. As the three continued their looks of anguish and hurt, Eva approached them outside of the bar. Before Chuck realized this, he bent down in front of Blair, hoping to take a way any of the hurt he saw etched on her face. "Blair, you have to understand. Your last words to me that night at the hospital...Do you remember them? You demanded that I never speak to you...ever again. I wanted to, Blair. I needed to. After all that we had been through, all the hurt, all the pain...I still needed you. But for once, I saw what I had done to you. I heard the devastation in your voice...saw it in your eyes that night at the hospital. Seeing you like that, Blair, I wanted to be dead. I didn't care if I lived. Despite my own depression and hurt, I wanted to finally be the man you always deserved Blair, I was trying to be a better man for you. I loved you enough to let you go. I was trying to give you your freedom...freedom from a life of horrible things...freedom from a hopeless future with me." Chuck choked out these words, and his body trembled. Blair barely spoke, "So what, you were so hurt, you just gave up on life? You just tried to end it? How could you? I asked you once never to do that to me. Whatever you wanted to do to yourself, you should have never done that to me!" Chuck cringed at the memory of Blair first saying those words to him. It seemed so long ago. He knew that Blair had assumed he tried to end his own life again. He couldn't blame her for jumping to this conclusion. The thought had crossed his mind that night in Prague...ironic, huh? Guess you get what you ask for sometimes in life.

Chuck tried to speak with conviction this time, "Blair, I didn't try to end my own life. Although, that idea wasn't by any means foreign to me, and this time, I have to admit I wouldn't have thought you would have cared. Blair, I was mugged and shot in an alleyway in Prague. A few drunken locals saw me laying there, bleeding out onto the street, and the next thing I knew, I was in a hospital bed, feeling pain I never knew existed." Serena obvious to Blair's needs and her own, sat down beside her best friend and grabbed hold of her hand, squeezing firmly. Blair shook her head, "No. No. That couldn't have happened. You didn't call. Nobody knew. You would have been all alone for so many days." The words came out one syllable at a time. Chuck shook his head embarrassed at the words he knew were coming next, "Blair, after what I did to you, I couldn't face you, and I was still trying to give you what you asked for...a life without me. In my mind, I expected the worst which is understandable. I deserved it. I assumed that everyone knew of all the wrong I had done to you...Lilly, Eric, Nate...I didn't think I had a reason to call home. I felt I had nobody left and rightfully so." Suddenly, he saw a fire in Blair's eyes he didn't expect in a moment such as this. He knew that look, and the repercussions of that look were never good.

"How dare you...you...you... ass! Only you, Chuck Bass, would make this situation all about YOU! So you got shot and had nobody to call. Poor Little Lamb! Did you not think about what it would do to Lilly, a recovering cancer patient, to know that her stepson failed to mention his near death experience to her of all people? Or how Eric, a young adolescent who has a history of depression, would handle this news? And not to mention...Serena?" She asked angrily, pointing towards her best friend on the bench. "You knew what she'd been going through with her daddy issues, and to know that her own stepbrother failed to include her in such a crucial time in his life! Did you ever stop to think about what your decision to remain silent would do to them?" She screamed at him. Her eyes were furious. Chuck looked to Serena for some type of reassurance from the truth he knew Blair spoke, but Serena with tears in her eyes only looked at him accusingly. Blair was fuming. She couldn't help but continue. The harsh words were pouring out of her. Chuck had seen this side of Blair. She had directed this type of fury at Georgina, Little Jenny Humphrey, and even her stupid little minions, but he had never been a victim of this type of lashing...not from Blair.

Chuck cringed. He knew he deserved it, but knowing he let Blair down once again made him feel completely hopeless. What was the point in living? "Maybe, I should have died in the streets of Prague. Prostitutes nearby. The papers would have loved that." He sadly thought to himself, smirking at his own morbid thoughts. This was what his life was now...disappointment after disappointment. The life of the great Chuck Bass.

"Since you obviously didn't feel the need to include your family in your life when you needed them the most, perhaps you shouldn't even come home. Save us all from the destruction that only you can cause! To think I actually felt sorry for you for the words I said to you that night. Please, you still are and will always be a bassterd! Don't come home! Who needs you? It will be as if you never existed!" With that, Blair pulled Serena away from the bench, and the two of them practically ran back to their suite. Neither saying anything, both silently sobbing the entire way.

Chuck felt like his insides had been ripped out, and to think he just thought getting shot was the worst pain he'd feel in his life. He pulled himself onto the bench, barely able to pull up his own weight. As he looked up, he saw Eva standing timidly alongside the building. She approached him slowly. "Charles, I am so sorry. I had no idea that you hadn't told anyone. She's your stepsister, Charles. How could you not tell your own family that you were shot? You nearly died!" She tried to speak as calmly as she could. She saw what he had just been through with Serena and Blair. He needed her now more than ever. Chuck tried to make her see it from his perspective. "I initially didn't want them to know, ya know? I just didn't want to pull them into the downward spiral of my life yet again. After a while, it just got easier to keep telling myself I was doing the right thing. After all, what could I say, 'Oh hey, Lilly. I know it's been a while. It seems I forgot to mention I was shot three weeks ago.' You know it doesn't exactly roll off the tongue that easily," he tried to explain his reasoning for keeping this secret from the ones who loved him most in life. Eva didn't say anything, but she did nod in understanding, taking hold of his hand gently. "I want you to come away with me, Charles. Let's leave all this behind us. Start a new life with me...your Eva." She initially just wanted to pacify his needs in that moment, but at the same time, Eva realized she had never been more sincere in her life. Who cares about this Chuck Bass from the past? That wasn't the Charles that she loved today. Yes, if she were to admit, Eva had realized she had grown to love him. She loved him and maybe he could love her too?

"When do we leave?" Chuck whispered with a slight smile on his face.

Awe, it seems C will finally get a happy ending...or should we say a happy beginning? We're all for C leading a better life, but traveling abroad with E? We're thinking that if B were here, she'd tell little miss Balenger that the smile on C's tortured face was one that didn't come close to reaching his dark, piercing eyes. You know what they say. A smile tells it all. Au revoir, C and E!

XOXO, Gossip Girl


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

When Blair and Serena made it back to their suite, the two girls went through the motions of getting ready for bed. Both washed their faces. Although, there wasn't much make up left on either of the beauties after the sob fest that occurred on the way home. After brushing their teeth, there was a silent agreement that the girls would sleep together that night. They hadn't done that since they were ten or eleven, but that was what each of them needed the most...love and comfort that only a best friend can give. No words were spoken, but the two girls' hands were clasped all night. That was enough. After a few hours, Blair could tell that Serena's breathing became heavy. She knew her best friend had finally dozed off. Blair's restless, chocolate eyes never shut that night. She laid their in bed, contemplating the mystery of her newly- "re"found companionship with Chuck. Things between them were going...surprisingly well considering all that had happened in the last couple of months, and then BAM...Another shot at the heart by that basshole! The nerve of him to make her feel as if it was her fault that he didn't contact anyone from home after getting shot! Blair was so angry at him. "Agh! If I could just lay my hands on him. This time it wouldn't be a slap to the face, rather a stiff punch to that arrogant nose of his!" Blair lay there, still fuming over his decision to shut everyone that mattered out of his life. She couldn't help but feel sorry for herself too. She knew that he had changed. She knew that-as soon as she saw his face light up with an honest to goodness smile across the street of Dior. She thought that maybe he could be the man she always dreamed of deserving in her life. This proved her wrong though. He was still the same ole' Chuck...despite the way he may be "acting."

When the first light of the morning beamed in through the windows of the suite, Blair quietly crept out bed. Serena didn't stir. Blair didn't bother showering. After rinsing her face and brushing her teeth, she threw her hair up in a messy bun, put on a simple, cotton dress, and stepped into her gladiator sandals. She wasn't in New York, and nobody knew her here. She wasn't in the mood to "get pretty." She wanted alone time with a latte and a muffin at her favorite local bakery. Despite her need to be with people she loved in desperate times such as these, she found that recently, her best therapy was being alone...letting her mind truly wander...reflecting on this tragedy called life.

As she sat at her favorite table in the corner closest to the street, picking at her muffin and barely sipping her latte, Blair noticed little things about passing couples. She noticed how one couple couldn't keep their hands off of each other. It wasn't that gross PDA type of touching that she loathed in couples, but it was that endearing kind of embrace. The fact that if they weren't holding hands, the man's hand found the small of his lover's back, or as the woman talked with animation, her hand would touch the man's arm excitedly. It was as if they were attracted by magnets. "Ugh! Screw that magnetic force! It got me nowhere!" she wanted to scream a warning at the hopelessly-in-love pair. Another couple walked briskly to the local cinema. They must have been late for their showing based on the pep in their step, and all Blair wanted to point out to them was how boring they must be as a couple. Of course, that was a lie. Blair longed for that type of relationship. As much as she might not like to admit, she wanted it more than anything, but she had just given up on the dream of that true, pure and simple kind of love. It obviously wasn't in the cards for her. However, it was the third and final couple, Blair spied that gave her chills. They sat down at a table near her in the bakery, and she couldn't help but overhear the man repeatedly talking on his cell phone. She could tell from the sound of the calls that they were all business related. When the waitress came to take their order, the man cut her off angrily, "Can't you see I'm on the phone? Can you give us a second or should I see if your employer has more competent help to serve us?" The waitress turned away horrified, but it wasn't the waitress's face that Blair was staring at. No, it was the face of the man's fiance across the table. She watched as the woman frowned, her bottom lip trembling, her eyes never looking up from the table. "Was I that girl with Chuck?" Blair found herself sadly wondering. Blair couldn't help but to continue to watch this couple. After the man's third phone call, he halfheartedly apologized to her, "I'm sorry, baby. You know how important work is right now." The woman's facial expression changed from somber to upbeat with his half ass excuse. "Ugh, you have to be kidding me!" Blair silently pleaded with the girl to stand up for herself. Couldn't she see what an ass she was with! Blair couldn't help but listen harder to the two's conversation that followed. "You remember that Mother and Father want us over for dinner tonight, right? My grandmother is in town, and well, it's been forever since I last saw her...probably since Papere's funeral. It will be great to catch up! I've missed her so much!" the woman's eyes radiated as she reminded her fiance about their dinner plans. "You know I won't be able to attend, Rose." he stated condescendingly. "I'm having drinks with some of the men on the board tonight. My new business proposal will go over much smoother with their full support. This is something I can't afford to miss out on." Beep! Blair heard the man's phone sound once again. He rose from the table. "If you'll excuse me, I'll just be a second. This is the president of the board now. I'll be back, and if that idiot of a waitress comes back, I'll just have a coffee." He abruptly removed himself from the table, and even though Blair Waldorf was quite the conspicuous spy in her past, it seems she was staring sadly at the woman without even realizing. As the woman made eye contact with Blair, she smiled nervously. Blair quickly looked away, embarrassed for being caught listening in on such a horrid one-sided conversation between the couple. After a few seconds, Blair couldn't help but look back, and what she saw was empowering. No, the woman, merely a stranger in a bakery, didn't realize what an affect she had on Blair. Blair stared at the empty table. All that was left was an engagement ring. Blair couldn't help herself. She had cried all the tears she could for Chuck Bass, and this woman's self-love and respect for herself was contagious. As her own phone sounded, Blair Waldorf smiled, the truest of smiles, for the first time since last night's horrid happenings.

* * *

Just spotted: C and E at the train station in downtown Paris...Looks like C is all packed for his worldly travels, and E looks like a lady in love. Wonder what B think's about C's baggage? More importantly, where's C going? Will S and B really bid him farewell...for good?

XOXO Gossip Girl

"You bet, your ass, I'll bid him farewell," Blair said out loud to nobody but herself. Watching "the old Blair" through a stranger's relationship was enlightening. God, if she would have stayed with Chuck, surely eventually he would have proposed. She loved him enough to say yes. She'd want to please him. Ugh, she couldn't imagine a life with him loving his work more than her...always putting everything before her. It's amazing that it took something as heroic as what she just witnessed in the stranger named Rose for her to truly understand what she deserved. Yes, Blair Waldorf deserved a lot. She deserved more than what Chuck Bass was ever willing to give her, and coming to that realization left her feeling hopeful and determined to find what she was looking for. She knew what she deserved, and she wouldn't settle for less in the future.

As Blair's moment of empowerment continued to seep through her entire being, radiating even her soul it seemed, Serena plopped herself at the table beside Blair. "B, I can't believe you didn't leave me a note or anything. I was worried." Blair smiled at her best friend, and she wasn't surprised to see Serena with a look of honest confusion on her face. Serena probably thought Blair would be suicidal by morning knowing of what Chuck Bass did...or in his case, didn't do. He didn't tell his family...his friends...his Blair about being nearly killed. Blair should be furious still, but Serena didn't witness what Blair just had. Just as Blair was about to tell her what she had realized about her life, Serena cut her off. "B, listen. It's not important where you are. I knew you'd be here. You've been obsessed with this bakery ever since we got here, and I can't blame you. Why not eat carbs? We're on vacation after all, but none of that is important right now! Did you get the GG blast?" Serena was gasping for air by this point. Blair didn't realize it before, but Serena's forehead and neck were drenched in sweat. She must have sprinted the whole way over from the suite. "Yes, S. I got the blast, and I'm okay. So what if Chuck is going away to "happily ever after" with his precious Eva? Let him go, S. I'M OKAY. I just had the most enlightening experience of my..." Serena cut off her best friend again. "Blair, this is important. You have to listen to me. We know Chuck. We know Chuck better than little miss Eva ever will, and we know what he does. He runs." Blair interjected. "Yes, S. When life is scary, Chuck runs. Everyone knows that. It's nothing new." Serena jumped right back, "But, B, he's different now. If he runs this time, what does he have to come running back to? He feels he has nothing! We can't let him do this. I'm scared we'll lose him forever." Blair wanted to argue with Serena. She wanted to tell her she didn't care how long Chuck Bass ran or who he ran with. Serena's next words changed her mind though. Serena was her best friend. Of course she knew Blair's every weakness. "He could have died, B...in Prague that night. We would have never had a chance to right any wrongs...to tell him we loved him despite his mistakes. We might have never seen him again. Now that we know he's okay, and that God gave him a second chance...that God gave us **all **a second chance, we can't let him fade away from us again. I couldn't bare it, and if you dig down deep into the soul I know you have, I know you couldn't bare it either. Blair, please. We have to stop him before he gets on that train. Please." Serena's voice quavered as she plead with her best friend to help her get Chuck back. Blair swallowed hard, and she nodded her head intently. She knew that she couldn't live her life knowing that she didn't help Serena find him. She'd be fooling herself to pretend it was all for Serena though. After "seeing" hers and Chuck's relationship played out for her today, she knew it was officially over between them. She would demand more out of her next relationship. She loved herself enough to want more. However, she couldn't fool herself. When she told Chuck the night before that she'd always be his family, she meant it. She needed him in her life, and for some reason she couldn't shake, she thought he still needed her...maybe now more than ever. "Let's go catch that Bass!" Blair grabbed her best friend's hand, and the two quickly ran out of the bakery into the open street. Waving frantically for a cab, Blair just hoped they weren't too late.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Blair didn't know whether to be relieved that Paris taxi drivers had horrible driving standards or to be scared for her life. Either way, she was thankful that the trek was much shorter than she had originally thought it would be. As the taxi pulled into the train station in downtown Paris, Blair and Serena leapt out, both girls' hearts pounding, minds racing to what life without Chuck Bass might be like. Truthfully, neither wanted to ever know what a Chuckless life was like. "S, I think we're too late!" Blair confessed frantically, out of breath from circulating the downstairs lobby of the train station. Her stomach sank at this realization. She was too late. "No. No. No. We can't be too late! What will my mother think? Eric...he'll never forgive me for letting Chuck go without a fight! Nate won't know what to do without Chuck. I've really messed up this time, B. I should have been there for my brother, and in the time he needed me the most, I wasn't." Serena's voice was nothing but a whisper. As Blair tried to comfort her best friend, she frantically looked around, hoping...hoping with every inch of her being that she'd find him somehow before it was too late. Her gaze rose up to the second floor railing of the train station. There, he was standing, ticket in hand. And as much as Blair wanted to run to him...to stop him...to save him, her feet remained planted firmly as she saw the French woman rise from the bench beside him. It was her. Eva. Her heart sank. "All this running after him...all this effort into saving him, and he probably doesn't even want to be saved. I told him once, we'd never be safe. Maybe he took my words to heart. He no longer wants to delay the inevitable. Who needs to be saved when you have Do-Gooder Barbie as your sidekick?" She bitterly scoffed at this thought.

Blair knew that Serena still hadn't seen him above them on the second floor, and because of this, Blair knew she could leave the train station that night without ever seeing him again. Part of her wanted to turn away. Run. Fast. Serena would never know he'd even been there. Blair would distract her before she ever glanced upwards to see him. Serena would have thought they merely missed him...chalked it up to bad timing. But Blair also knew that despite what her head was telling her, her heart was persuading otherwise. She watched as Eva left the bench headed for the lady's room. Now was her chance. Maybe her only chance...maybe her last chance.

"S." Blair said. "I'll be back." Serena watched hopeless as Blair walked towards the stairs through the hustle and bustle of Parisians and tourists. She didn't think it was right for Blair to trail off in a moment such as this, but she knew whatever pain she was experiencing could more than likely be multiplied by one hundred to reach the pain Blair was feeling. Of course, she knew Blair would never admit that though.

As Blair ascended the stairway, her eyes never left him. He really was beautiful...despite obvious internal character flaws that were embedded within him. She could see him perfectly through the crowd of people climbing the stairs ahead of her. As she took him in-step by step up the stairs, her mind raced back to all the memories they shared-mostly good...some bad...some detrimental. She wondered how they ever got here...got to this place. Whatever happened to them? Chuck and Blair, Blair and Chuck. Ha! Look at them now. "Eat your heart out Gossip Girl," Blair thought coldly. Was their relationship ever worth all the torture and heartache it had caused? She knew that what they had...for a short time though it was...was real...it was the realest love she'd ever experienced in her young age. She smiled sympathetically to herself. However, she knew that if their relationship was real, she'd never be real again...with anyone. Her smile turned to a frown. She had nothing to offer a new suitor. She was used. Broken. Unrepairable. "Once you give your heart away completely, it's impossible to get it all back. The tie that binds me to Chuck is relentless. Could I ever get that piece of me back from him? Will it be fair to the next...to only give him the parts that are whole?" Blair thought about her future life without Chuck by her side. It was hard to imagine, and yet she knew that was, in fact, her future. There was no denying the fact that 1) Blair's heart couldn't take another Chuck Bass beating...period. Game over. And 2) Imagining herself loving another the way she loved Chuck made her want to beat her own heart to smithereens. 3) Both options left her with a beaten heart. "Guess it's time to contemplate the failure of my love life," she thought for a moment distracted from the fact that she now had reached the top of the stairs.

Upon reaching the top, Blair took a deep breath before continuing her pursuit. Chuck looked up from the ground that he'd been staring at for hours. Their eyes met, and the two stared at each other intently, nervously. Neither making a move further. Blair knew what had to be done. Every bone in her body tried to stop her. Every voice in her head screamed, "Don't!" She held onto the railing for support because the way her pulse was racing and her knees were knocking, she didn't know if she could physically make those steps to reach him. As she took the first step, Chuck too began inching towards her. It was then she noticed the painstaking truth behind that walk-he was walking with a limp. Her heart ached for the pain he must have faced...the loneliness in Prague. She knew how lonely he was growing up with Bart Bass. He didn't deserve to ever have to feel that way again-no matter how much pain he had caused her, and yet, she knew in that hospital in Prague he must have hit an all time low. They finally reached each other, and the two stood motionless merely a foot apart.

Blair watched as Chuck stood defeated. She knew, that to him, her being here tonight must seem foreign after the way she responded the night before. He was so hesitant...so careful...so afraid of what her next words might be. The Chuck Bass she used to know never had a problem looking anyone in the eye. In fact, people used to cower when Chuck Bass's gaze met their own...such empowerment and self-confidence often left people intimidated. Yet, in this moment, he couldn't even force himself to look at Blair. "Chuck..." she struggled to get the word out without her voice cracking. He blinked but still couldn't look up at her. "Chuck, please..." she whole-heartedly begged him to look at her. He looked up at her after a multitude of seconds passed by, it seemed, and in his eyes, she saw the saddest thing she'd ever see in all her life. For the second time during her experiences with Chuck, she couldn't see _him_. Emptiness. She saw nothing when she looked into his deep, chocolate eyes. That realization scared the hell out of her.

"Blair, why are you here? It's not your responsibility to make sure I'm okay anymore. You're not my girlfriend." he said cruelly, but there wasn't the slightest bit of conviction in his tone. She nodded, smiling kindly, knowing that whatever pain she was feeling he was feeling it that much more. "Where do you think you're going, Bass?" she asked him. "Did you think you could just leave your old life? Leave the old Chuck Bass once and for all? Become this new Charles Bass? Well, I've got news for Eva Balenger-It's not YOU! Were you just going to leave all of your Upper Eastside friends to fend for themselves? Good riddance, Lilly, Eric, Nate...It's never worked for you before, and it won't work for you now." She tried to reason with him, but he only shook his head in disgust at her. "Like you give a damn." he replied sourly. She sighed but knew she wasn't defeated yet. She had reached the core of Chuck Bass before, and she damn sure could do it again. From the corner of her eye, Blair could see Eva approaching, the bathroom door swinging behind her, and for once, Blair was at a loss of what to do. She needed to do something bold. Something that could shake him back into reality-the reality that he must return to his life in New York-the reality that he must learn to face. The former queen bee wasn't used to having to react this quickly as of lately...the last scheme she'd pulled was the William Van Der Woodsen take down, and that had been months ago. Truthfully, her relationship with Chuck had calmed her in a sense. Scheming was a thing of the past for the most part, but this was a legitimate excuse. She needed to act, and she needed to act fast. Blair did all that she knew she could in that moment. Surprisingly, this take down was to be honest and heartfelt. Not Blair Waldorf's usual style. She wrapped her arms around him in the warmest, most loving embrace she could, their bodies finding one another's like magnets. "I know you'll do the right thing. Come back to New York...for your **family.**" Blair tried to stress that word hoping he'd remember her former promise to him as she whispered in his ear..."If not for yourself, come home for them. They need you. You carry them, Chuck..." She hesitated, afraid to admit the next part. "You've always carried me." she silently assured him of his worth. He looked up at her with an unsure look. She nodded in contentment. With that last phrase, she pulled away from him only to look him deep in the eyes, inches apart from his face. "Please don't push us away. Please don't push me away." Blair knew her final moments alone with him were coming to a close. She managed to add, "I know I all but begged you to leave me be...forever, but the truth is Chuck, I couldn't live in a world that you didn't exist in. I'm sorry for the wrong I've done to you, Chuck, and I'm sorry for the wrong you've done to me. I'm sorry for both of us that we couldn't get it right. But I will never regret what we had. You're a part of me, and you always will be. I'm not Blair Waldorf without you. Knowing that you were hurt so badly, that you could have..." She couldn't make herself say the word, but she knew she didn't have much time. She could feel herself babbling, but she couldn't help it. Her nerves were getting the best of her. "Well...your experience in Prague... just put things into perspective for me. I've realized that I need you in my life in some capacity-I need the Bassterd that calls me out when I'm in the wrong, that challenges me to stand up for myself, that pushes me to be better than I ever knew I could. I need my best friend back." She watched as Chuck's eyes sparkled with a little bit of the old "Chuck Bass" charm. A sad smile reached his lips. Before Eva could reach them, Blair stood firm on her tiptoes, wrapped her arms around his neck, and gently pressed her lips to his cheek. She breathed him in, hovering around his neck and chin. She couldn't help but feel his own lips move towards hers, as well. His breath was heavy, and she could feel his body trembling at their embrace. Their lips were so close...each lingering just out of reach. "It was you." Chuck choked out. "Your face, Blair. I thought of you on the street that night...the thought of never seeing you again. You brought me back to life, Blair." She sobbed silent tears, and she could feel his breath on her, and for once, she couldn't stop herself from wanting something more to happen. "Damn, those mother effing butterflies!" she smiled thinking back to her metaphor squashing...so long ago when Chuck first admitted he had feelings for her. With a smile of that memory pouring out of her, their lips barely grazed each other's before Blair could hear Eva's footsteps behind her. It wasn't until she took a step back that she realized she was panting. "Pull yourself together, Waldorf." she silently condemned herself. If Eva suspected anything from their embrace, she did a good job of hiding it. "Come back to us. Don't disappoint, Bass." Blair whispered to him again before turning to walk away. She smiled towards Eva one last time before taking her first few steps away from him. But Blair turned back when she heard him say in the most melancholic expression she'd ever heard, "I'm...Chuck Bass, Blair. Disappointment follows me." he said guiltily as if he hated himself all over again. "Let it follow you back home..." she said with a hopeful smile.

* * *

"Last call for all passengers. All A_**bored**_!" Spotted-Another C and E passionless kiss right before walking in opposite directions at the train station in Paris. The only sparks flying-were the sparks on the track. Looks like C may be getting homesick after all. I wonder if B has a remedy waiting for him.

XOXO,

Gossip Girl


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

It didn't take Blair Waldorf long to fall back into her queen bee status at Columbia. After all, she had already won over the hairband girls from her mother's fashion show so many months ago. It didn't take her long to develop true, respectable minions apart from these two either. Mostly though, it didn't take her long to realize that Chuck Bass wouldn't mysteriously show up in her Family Law course or be waiting for her out in the quad after class, letting her know he was home. Letting her know that he had come back to his family after all...that he'd come back to her. She couldn't pretend the thought hadn't crossed her mind a zillion times in the first couple of weeks back in the city, but somewhere between planning social functions for the elite at Columbia or worrying about Serena's choice between Nate or God-forbid...Dan Humphrey, she pushed all thoughts of Chuck aside.

Of course, the fact that Sam Worthington hit on Blair daily in their Economics class didn't hurt either. Sam Worthington was a southerner-from Birmingham, Alabama, and the buzz around campus was that his family came from old, southern money. "Hmm...there is something about that southern drawl," Blair thought to herself pleased by the fact that the most eligible bachelor at Columbia had sought after her. "So, Blair...when are you ever going to make a happy man? I've been sheepishly, ridiculously flirting with you ever since Dr. Floyd went over the syllabus with us on Day 1. Humor me already. Go out with me." Blair smiled up at him as the two of them walked down the steps toward the quad. She shook her head playfully. It wasn't that Sam Worthington wasn't a total hotty...because he was. You could ask any girl on campus, and she'd tell you instantly that she'd die to go out with him. _Double-edged sword. _Blair loved the way his wavy, dark brown hair fell imperfectly around his masculine jawline. She loved the way his dark, blue eyes danced as he talked, and she loved the way his eyelashes were so long they seemed to reach out and tug at her heart with every blink of his eye. The problem: She had this guy before. Not once, but twice. She had Nate Archibald once long ago...beautiful Nate. Beautiful Nate that ripped her heart out one stare Serena's way at a time. Later, she had Chuck Bass. Sexy Chuck Bass. Sexy Chuck that ripped her heart out one raccoon-eyed slut at a time. She wanted something different. Deep down in her soul, she knew she needed something different. Someone wholesome, someone good, someone true. Any ole' country bumpkin just wouldn't do...no matter how cute the southerner might be.

"Mr. Worthington, have you ever been able to take a simple "no" for an answer in your entire life?" Blair questioned with a spark in her eye. "I've told you-you're not what I'm looking for. I've dated your kind before, and although the Blair Waldorf of the past would have looooved to have let you take me out on the town, flaunt you to all my friends, and coax you into buying me all kinds of expensive jewelry and gifts, the present-day Blair Waldorf needs something more...lasting. Do you know what I mean?" she begged for him to understand that she wasn't just playing hard to get. If he didn't stop asking her out already, she'd end up saying yes eventually, and then that would lead up to heartbreak number one thousand for Blair Waldorf. "Humph. Not in this lifetime." Blair thought to herself. She wouldn't succumb to that again. She'd choose her next suitor wisely. "Alright, Waldorf." She smiled nervously. No other guy had ever called her Waldorf before...except him. "I don't know what you've heard about me, but obviously you've been misinformed." Sam offered with a wink. "Oh really?" Blair urged him on. "Yeah, for instance. I bet your minions felled to report that I have a nephew who had me at, "Uncle Sam. You're the best uncle ever!" My sister, Andy, had a baby eight months ago, and his name is Ollie. Basically, he can't actually talk yet, but I know that's what he's always thinking anyway." He laughed at his own joke. Usually Blair hated that, but the way he did it wasn't conceited or even corny. "When I'm not playing rugby or volunteering for committees around campus, I spend every second I can with him. I never knew that I would be a "baby" kind of guy, but now that he's in my life, I can't get enough of him. You know, I even do that annoying, over-the-top baby voice. It's actually quite ridiculous." He admitted smiling to himself just thinking about his nephew's chunky cheeks. Blair giggled...not able to push aside thoughts that he was describing exactly how she acted with Anastasia. "Oh, but that's not all. Besides from the fact that all babies adore me, I also volunteer at the pet adoption clinic in Brooklyn too. If I could, I'd take them all home myself, to our ranch in Alabama, but despite the fact that my parents' ranch home is in the country surrounded by acres and acres of land, my mom would probably kill me...which brings me to my next point. My mom is my hero, and besides that, I also..." Blair interjected. "tend to be a pain in the ass?" Blair jokingly added. She had to admit. There was something there. Despite his rugged good looks, there was something he exhibited that none of her exes in the past had-normalcy. If there was something Blair Waldorf needed in her life-it was a sense of normalcy. "Ouch!" Sam faked being wounded by Blair's banter. As he doubled over in pretend pain, Blair playfully pushed his arm, but before she could even react, he pulled her closer to him. "Go out with me." He urged her intently. "No." She argued. "Go out with me." he said it once more...this time his blue eyes never leaving hers...his long eyelashes never batting. "Fine." she acted annoyed, but deep down, something was fluttering. These butterflies felt different though. These were playful, sweet butterflies. These weren't deadly like ones she'd experienced in her past. These were the kind that might...just might...flutter for a very happily ever after.

"Okay, okay stop begging me, Waldorf. I'll go out with you. Geez." he continued to tease her. "I'll pick you up tonight. Now, don't forget to come out looking perty now, you hear?" he was already walking away clearly happy with his triumph as he faked an over-the-top southern drawl, turned, and gave her a wink with his last remark.

As soon as she turned from him heading for her favorite oak tree in the quad, she fished her cell phone out of her hobo bag hoping to call S with this newfound excitement, as a familiar voice caught her off guard. "Blair." he simply stated. She didn't have to turn to know who would be standing behind her. It was him. It was Chuck. As she spun around, she couldn't help but notice a familiar look on his face. The same look he had the night of that awful Brooklyn art party. She shook this thought from her head though thinking she was simply losing it. He couldn't have seen the flirting between she and Sam, and even if he did, he wouldn't...he couldn't be jealous after all this time...could he? She didn't know how she felt about either possibility.

"Chuck. The city looks good on you." she silently took in his appearance. It didn't take him long to fall back into the Chuck Bass look. He was fully clothed from head to toe in a dashing charcoal suit. He stood there, saying nothing. His facial expression was a mixture of emotions. "Soooo, you're home, now?" she asked wondering if he'd be back for good. She hoped he would be. Home wasn't the same without him regardless of what they were-friends, lovers, destined, ruined, and back to...friends? Honestly, who knew anymore? It was hard to keep up...even for her.

He nodded finally after what seemed like minutes passed by. "You'll be seeing more of me around, Waldorf." She smiled, but she didn't know if it was from replaying Sam's earlier attempt at calling her Waldorf or the fact that Chuck wanted her to know he'd be near. "Who's the boy toy? I'm glad to see you're moving on from Tristan. Despite his authentic French accent and culture, the guy had nothing to offer." Chuck scoffed at the thought. "Ugh. Bass, there was never anything between Tristan and me. How many times do I have to say that?" She thought back to her tryst with Tristan. "Well, aside from the occasional drunk kissing and groping, anyway." she admitted...unashamed of her behaviors. Chuck shook his head in disgust. "Oh, get over yourself, Bass. At least I didn't have to pay him for intimacy, and we barely went past first base...well make that second." she giggled at the memory. "So this new guy you were with on the steps? Is he just another Tristan? Someone to make out with? This isn't you, Blair." he tried to reason with her. The Blair he used to know would never have random hook ups with French strangers...or country hicks. Disgusting.

"Actually, Bass. I think there may be something there. You see, aside from the fact that Sam Worthington just happens to be the most gorgeous guy here at Columbia, he also loves babies, dogs, and his mom!" She almost screamed at him. Who did he think he was anyway? She was fuming. Suddenly, her anger diminished because she saw the way he cringed when she said the last part-loves his _mom._ She knew that Chuck Bass never had the opportunity to do so-one of the many reasons he'd been broken. He never had the chance to be wholesome-to be normal. Before she could apologize for being so unthoughtful, his look of pain faltered into a look of pure rage. She'd seen that look before, and she didn't like what was coming next. "Well, while the two of you seem so obvious for each other, then maybe it won't bother you at all that Eva came back to the city with me. Not only did she return with me but she's also moving into the suite with me." he all but spit the words out at her. She knew her eyes were giving her away. She couldn't deny that it hurt to hear that another woman would be living with him...sleeping in what used to be her bed. Angry tears began to form in the corners of her eyes. "Of course, before she got a tour of the suite, I did have to have some of my men throw some of your old belongings away-lingerie, pictures of the two of us, notes you left me before heading to NYU for classes-you know...nothing really that important." he shrugged as if her things meant nothing to him anymore...as if she meant nothing. He smirked his signature Chuck Bass smirk, knowing that his words pained her.

"Why'd you even come back?" Blair asked before turning away from her favorite spot in the quad...before her turning away from her past. That's all he was to her now, a part of her past that she wished she could forget.

* * *

Looks like B and C are up to their old ways again. Neither waving a white flag of surrender yet. Although the two ex lovers have seemed to have forgotten, I know I sure haven't. What happens when you add _B + C + intentional jabs at the heart = intentional removal of clothes. _Wonder if this is an economics equation Sam Worthington can solve? Will he be up to the challenge? My vote is on the southerner. He looks like he can add...and subtract whatever might get in the way of his potential with B.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Chuck couldn't figure out why in the first few hours of being back in the city his first stop was Columbia. He should have been helping Eva get acquainted in the suite or catching Lilly up on his life post-Prague. The last place he should be was with her, and yet, there he was. As he watched her angrily walk away, he couldn't help but think that it felt like the last time he'd see her walk away from him again. It wasn't that he didn't think he'd piss her off again. He would. He was Chuck Bass. Pissing Blair Waldorf off was etched into his inner core. However, in the past, when he pissed her off and she'd leave fuming, but she'd always give him a quick glance back with that adorable smirk on her face-the smirk that said, "We're not done yet, Bass." This time-Blair didn't turn around. She had changed. He was scared of that change.

Chuck searched his pockets as his cell phone suddenly vibrated. "Hello?" Chuck answered; his frustrated tone not easily disguised. "Charles, dear, please tell me you'll come by for dinner later. Serena tells me you've brought a friend home with you. We'd love to meet her." Chuck frowned. He wasn't in the mood for social niceties, but he also knew that he owed Lilly a conversation-an apology at best. "Are you there? I know you're probably worried I'll try cooking again. Don't worry. Rufus plans to make his famous chili, and I promise to stay clear of the kitchen during the process." she laughed nervously, obviously afraid that Chuck truly would say no to her invitation. He let out a sigh, "Sure, Lilly. Of course, I'd love to bring Eva to dinner. Tell me first though. Who all will be attending dinner?" he was really hoping she'd just say Eric. He hadn't bee in the mood for Serena as of lately. He knew she'd be overbearing and critical of Eva. "Well, let's see...there'll be Rufus, Eric, Serena...and I'm hoping she'll invite Nate. Although I have to tell you, the two of them have been acting quite strangely lately. You'll have to help me figure out the Nate/Serena current enigma." she mentioned with honest concern. "Great." Chuck tried to sound enthused, but he couldn't say he'd really be looking forward to whole situation at hand. "We'll see you tonight then." he said before closing his cell phone, motioning for his limo driver to go on without him. Ever since Prague and Paris, he didn't know why but taking a limo seemed quite gaudy. He much preferred walking through the city. Besides, he needed time to clear his head of thoughts of Blair picking cotton with her southerner ten years down the road.

Back in the suite, Chuck watched as Eva spritzed herself with perfume, ran her fingers through her hair, and slipped on her ballet flats. She really was naturally beautiful. He loved the fact that it took her ten minutes to freshen up for outings. He was used to two hours with...he didn't even want to think of her name. "So, will Lilly like me? What do I need to do to win over your mother?" Chuck cringed. He couldn't blame Eva for not understanding the family tree yet. It wasn't like his family life was anything close to perfect, but he had to admit the sound of Lilly being called his mother wasn't exactly a punch to the gut either. Lilly was far more the mother than he'd ever had before, and he was grateful for that. "Just be yourself. You're beautiful-inside and out, and Lilly will pick up on that in no time. She's a great judge of character. You two will hit it off, no doubt." he tried to reassure her as they approached Lilly's hand-in-hand. Eva looked up at him smiling that angel smile of hers. "Charles, I want you to know how happy I am here with you. I know I just got here, and it's too soon to be saying things like this. But, before, thoughts of coming to the city with you terrified me. Now though, that I'm here, I feel at home. I feel at ease, and I know it's because I'm here with you. Thank you for inviting me into your life-your real life...thanks for finally letting me in." He stopped, grabbed her face roughly...with much more passion than he or she was used to, and kissed her-hard. "Take that you "southern bell," he was thinking to himself when he heard a familiar voice...when he heard her voice.

"Well, well, Bass, I'd say get a room, but I already know you have one," Blair chided, "and a new roommate too. Eva, you poor soul. How did he ever talk you into it?" she laughed, teasing. Eva-still blindly unaware of Chuck and Blair's past, giggled, "Are you kidding? I've got it made with this one. Breakfast in bed, movie nights, and dinner dates too. You girls know how to train your friends right." Blair's expression couldn't be disguised. The fact that Chuck and Eva were able to have a freakin' normal relationship really irked her. At that comment, Chuck smiled that signature, "I'm an ass" smirk of his and whipped around to see none other than Blair with the damn cotton picker. "Yeah, Chuck and Eva-holding hands, Chuck and Eva-watching movies. We do have it made, don't we babe?" he was really pushing Blair's buttons now. He watched as her jaw clamped down tight, furious at where the conversation was going. He had to admit-seeing her jealousy-seeing her react in this way was the biggest turn on he'd had in awhile. A long while. "Anyway, what are you doing here, Blair?" Chuck accused. Blair smirked at her own signature bitch move, "Actually, my **date,** Sam and I, were going to go out for drinks and dinner, but Serena invited us to Lilly's. Apparently, there's trouble in paradise with Nate, and to avoid a relatively awkward dinner, she wanted her best friend by her side. What are YOU doing here?" she asked him accusingly. "Well, it looks like our dinner party increased by two then. Lilly invited us." he said in a more serious tone. "It's the first time since...well it's the first time since I've been back that I'll have seen her." he confessed hoping Blair would take it easy on him just this once. He really did owe Lilly a good night of reminiscing.

As Sam held the door opened for the three others to enter Lilly's building, Blair couldn't shake the fact that despite what an ass Chuck had been to her since he'd returned to the city, she was genuinely happy for him to take this opportunity to make things right with Lilly. For tonight, she'd surrender, but there was always tomorrow.

As the foursome entered Lilly's loft, all threw their arms around Chuck welcoming him home. Blair smiled as she watched Lilly and Eric almost topple over-an effect of the big bear hug they'd given him as soon as he walked through the door. She gazed across the room at Sam who was currently fixing her a martini at the mini bar. Gah. He really was beautiful and such a gentlemen. As he approached her with her martini, his smile widened. "So, Waldorf. You think I can round up a beer? I'd love a Corona Light." he admitted casually-his eyes searching the mini bar area once again, hoping he'd simply missed it before. Blair couldn't help it. She tried to hold in her laugh because at this point, it might be too early to laugh at his obvious southern drawbacks. In her attempt not to laugh, she let out a god-awful snort that could have been heard for miles. She drew back instantly-horrified by how incompletely unsexy the sound was-this was her first date with him. What was her problem? Almost cringing at the thought of him finding her unsexy, she looked at him with a look of embarrassment. Sam laughed sincerely...kindly...grabbed her in a hug and assured her, "Gah, Blair. You're even sexy when you make pig noises! Not many girls can say that!" he laughed out loud again. "Well, Mr. Worthington, you would know...considering you probably have pigs as indoor pets back on the ranch!" she joked, poking him in the ribs. She could used to this playful banter. Playful felt good to her heart. "Now, how about I ring room service and get you that beer!" she added, pulling him playfully to follow her to the intercom system.

As the two walked away, Sam wound his fingers around Blair's-his thumb tracing circles around her palm. She looked back at him...almost unable to breath. They passed the "Chuck Bass Fan Club" still surrounding their idol, when she heard Eric say, "So, brother, what's it like to stare death straight in the face and survive it all? Only Chuck Bass could kick death's ass!" he cheered Chuck on with his praises. Chuck paused before answering. It seemed like minutes passed. His voice quavered. "Honestly...and I know I run the risk of sounding quite feminine here," he shook his head already embarrassed by his next comment. " But in that moment, all I could think about was the reason I needed to live-the memory of what my life might be like again if I could just kept breathing." Eric hoping for some gruesome remark as to how Chuck survived the pain and gore, fell silent with Chuck's somber comment. As Blair and Sam strode past the two's conversation, she couldn't help but steal a glance at Chuck as she overheard his heartfelt reply. Of course, as always-like magnets, his eyes met hers instantaneously, and like magnets pulled apart forcefully, both parties reverted their eyes in opposite directions as quickly as they were initially connected.

After a lot of catching up and many martinis, glasses of wine, and uh...bottles of Corona were consumed, Rufus and Lilly announced, "Dinner, everyone! Rufus Humphrey's famous chili is coming right up. Just come on in the dining room and find your places." As everyone sat down at the table with garden salads and chili, they all dug right in. Chuck remembered Blair mentioning earlier that Nate and Serena were having some sort of issue, and he suddenly felt bad for the whole night focusing merely on his return. He looked across the table at his best friend, Nate, and suddenly, his heart was pained. For he could tell by looking at him, that Hurricane Serena was at it again.

"So, Nathaniel," Chuck urged. "What's life been like in the city for you without your best friend to keep you out of trouble?" Nate looked up from the chili he'd barely touched and laughed icily. "Well, since I had a few contacts over the summer to keep me busy, let's just say, there wasn't much down time on my end. Oh yeah, thanks again for your help in the matter." Nate replied with fake optimism. Chuck frowned. He had forgotten all about leaving his black book for Nate. "Good riddance." he thought to himself. After all, his sexual urges and desperate tendencies were at the root of he and Blair's ultimate demise. At the same time though, he suddenly felt extremely guilty, pulling Nate into a life like his own old one had been. Chuck found it hard to even comment in return. His throat seemed to tighten up.

Blair knowing that this "relatively new" Chuck was blaming himself for Nate's behavior over the summer, piped in the conversation, "Well, Nate. Some say summers exist for such "contacts" to take place. Although, quite frankly I've never been a fan of this behavior myself. However, lucky for you, Serena shared this disastrous tendency with you this summer...only of course, her contacts rode vespas and waited tables in downtown Paris." Her eyes quickly flickered to Chuck's. "Coming from the source in which you received your contacts, I'm sure they rode many a man in their day and waited only for enough time to get paid full asking price before leaving."

Nate and Serena looked at her with, "What the hell, Blair?" looks on their faces. "Oh please," Blair went on. "My point was simply that both of you acted like fools over the summer, but before that, you were two fools in love. Chuck and I saw how good you two were together...we all did, and you can get that back now. Quit playing games already. You two belong together." Everyone at the table silently agreed with her comments, and Nate and Serena were able to finally look at each other with slight smiles too.

Chuck didn't like the way Sam was looking at Blair. So what-Blair was good with words, and she was able to coerce people into doing the opposite of what they intended with one bat of her eyes. The look Sam had in his eyes was a look of admiration. He used to have that same look as she finagled her way out of anything, and it pained him to see another man with that same look in his eyes. Then he watched as Sam removed his hand from the table and reached down obviously reaching for Blair's own hand under the table already. Upon his touch, Blair jumped slightly, startled by the embrace. She looked up at Sam with that, and suddenly a smile-not an "Eat your heart out Chuck Bass," smile, but a sincere smile that proved she not only didn't care that Chuck Bass was in the room but anyone else either-the smile taking over her entire face let him know that as far as Blair was concerned, Sam was the only other person in the room. Damn that southerner! As Chuck tried to keep his attention away from her for the remainder of dinner, he couldn't help but steal glances towards her from time to time especially when conversation led to Blair informing the table about her prerequisite law courses. He was impressed that she took a stand against her mother-against the world-that assumed Blair Waldorf would be molded into a fashion mogul just like Eleanor. He was impressed that she was taking her courses so seriously, and he couldn't help but laugh as she mocked the "dinosaur" of a professor who taught one of her classes. As the table finished laughing at Blair's lighthearted banter, he caught himself still smiling in her direction-a sad smile of realization-because he knew that this was the start of the happiness she deserved. The happiness that only flickered briefly in their relationship before he ruined it all one betrayal at a time. Happiness looked good on her. "Damn. What doesn't look good on her anyway?" he silently questioned as he took in her appearance for the eighteenth time tonight. She was wearing a strapless, long, silk navy and pink printed dress...large golden hoop earrings, and her hair was wavy. He liked her new natural look...but mostly in that moment what he liked best was the way that when she talked, she'd occasionally push all of her hair to one side of her neck leaving the opposite side completely naked. Gah, he loved her neck. He reverted his eyes back to the group at the table, half-listening to Serena's attempt at showing off her French. As he eyed Blair once again again while Rufus began another corny joke, he saw a sudden change in demeanor out of the corner of his eye. It was Eva. Although, she'd been blinded to any old feelings brewing between he and Blair before, it was obvious that what she currently saw was something she didn't want to see again. "If you'll excuse me, please." Eva interrupted Rufus' joke before the punchline, "Lilly. Rufus. I enjoyed the meal. Serena. Eric. It was good to see you." She smiled politely at everyone at the table, but ironically, Blair was left out of the departing goodbyes.

Well, well, well. Looks like Rufus's jokes can't even smooth over the current issues arising at the Van Der Woodsen's dinner tonight. Spotted: E leaving dinner rather hastily, her chili barely touched...did Rufus leave out an important ingredient or is there something else missing here?

XOXO Gossip Girl


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